In honor of the 44th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s passing, I wanted to share a quote from him that I absolutely HATED as a kid.
“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.”
Bruce, what do you mean? I just spent my whole childhood idolizing you. Took off my shirt, pretended to be a nunchaku master, and screamed Watahhhhhh just like you! I did pushups, sit-ups, punches, and kicks just to try to duplicate your physique and agility.
However, when I got older, I realized that I completely missed that first part of your quote. “Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself...”. As I continued the journey of learning who I am as a human being, I understood what that meant. I learn more about myself everyday, and I couldn’t have done it without your philosophies influencing my life.
I can’t lie though, that second part still bugged me for the longest time. “...do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it”. So, I simply modified it to be inspired by you, rather than trying duplicate you.
Forty-four years later, and more to come, your inspiration will always be a part of me. Here’s to you, Bruce!